Acafellas

So, Glee episode three...

Definitely my least favorite of the three that have aired. As I've stated before, I think the kids are the heart of this show, and while there was still music-aplenty (though the story didn't build to any sort of final number... whether soaring like "Don't Stop Believing" or gut-wrenching like "Take a Bow") the focus was too much on Will and his outside project - the "Acafellas" - and that left the kids' story underserviced (and, um... less Sandy, please!)

The kids could've used more attention because the episode started filling out some of the Glee Club members besides Rachel and Finn, which I'm glad to see. The Mercedes/Kurt story could've been really great, but it felt choppy and the twists too sudden... like the "Mercedes is hanging out with Kurt" plot should've been one episode, the next is "she realizes she's falling for him, but he comes out (and, um, we're supposed to be surprised?)" and the next is "they patch things up and are able to be total BFF." Amber Riley has a fantastic voice and got to showcase it, front and center, in "Bust Your Windows." A really fun number... and the most "music video" Glee has given us thus far. Previously all of the numbers were things the characters were actually singing in the moment (even if, like "Take a Bow" it carried over from a rehearsal to singing in the mirror to singing as she watched Quinn and Finn in the hallway) and this was pure fantasy. I don't think it's a bad thing to allow the show to have characters break into fantasy music video (I certainly know that, in my own head, I've done it more than a couple times)... but I hope it's used sparingly.

On the music side... without building the a key emotional beat / performance, I don't think that we'll be seeing a new Glee song on the Billboard Top 100 next week (this week "Take a Bow" hit Number 46). I'm curious... has anyone heard Glee songs played on the radio? Can people request them and actually get them played?

Anyway, next week is "Preggers," an episode that critics screened a little while back (and I think it is now obvious why Fox chose to send out "Showmance" and "Preggers" for review, instead of "Showmance" and "Acafellas"). It's the "Single Ladies" episode. And it is HILARIOUS (and very much back to what I love about Glee... the focus on the kids) and it fills out Kurt's character a lot (something that, as above, was started in this episode).